“GREAT EVENTS OF THE BIBLE -- THE TOWER OF BABEL!” Introduction: A. (Slide #2) Text: Gen. 11:1-9 B. (►) This Is Another Event That Has World-Wide Impact Upon The Human Race! This Changed Social Interactions And Relationships Over The Whole Earth As Long As The World Exists! C. (►) The Events At Shinar Are Not TOO Long After The Flood. 1. Dates Used By James Usher: a. Creation -- 4001 B.C. b. Flood -- 600th year of Noah --2348 B.C. c. Babel -- 2234 B.C. 2. Imagine -- Babel only 114 years after the Flood! 3. Noah would have been 715; he lived 350 years after the Flood; thus, it would have been 235 years before Noah died! D. (►) The Phrase “Tower Of Babel” ” Is NOT A Biblical Term. 1. These events occurred at Shinar. 2. It is called the “Tower Of Babel” because the people sought to build a tower; the place was called “Babel” because God confounded their language! E. (►) Is There A Contradiction Between Genesis 10 and Genesis 11? 1. Chapter 10 gives information about the descendants of Japheth, Ham, and Shem. 1 2. Many take 3 passages and claim there is a contradiction between Genesis 10 and Genesis 11. 3. Why is this accusation made? a. Because in Genesis 10:5 the statement is made about Japheth’s descendants: “From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.” b. In Genesis 10:20 the statement is made about Ham’s descendants: “These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.” c. In Genesis 10:31 the statement is made about Ham’s descendants: “These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.” 4. People make the accusation, people ALREADY SPOKE OTHER LANGUAGES BEFORE the events at Babel. Gen. 11:6-9 5. This is a misunderstanding of Hebrew literary style that tells an events and the proceeds to give more detail. You see the same type of literary style in Genesis 1 and 2 -- Day 6 Adam was created; in chapter 2 we are given more detail of what happened on that day and see the creation of Eve. 6. In Genesis 10 and 11 we are given the descendants of Noah, 10:1-32; then in chapter 11 we see WHY those descendants were scattered throughout the earth! 7. Another amazing attempt to explain this is the concocted “Documentary Hypothesis” -- the supposed J, E, D, P idea that the Pentateuch was NOT written by Moses but rather is a compilation of the writings of 4 different authors! [They say 10:5 is from P (Priestly) and 11:1-9 is from J (Jawhist). a. The problem with this concocted hypothesis -- the Bible debunks it! b. In Mk. 12:26 Jesus said Moses wrote Ex. 3:1-3 “But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?” c. Luke in Acts 3:22 cites Moses as the author of Dt. 18:15 “For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.’ ” d. And Paul in Rom. 10:5 affirms that Moses wrote Lev. 18:5 “For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, ‘The man who does those things shall live by them.’ ” 8. (Slide #3) Map Of The Migration Of Shem, Ham, And Japheth’s Descendants. a. Japheth -- 10:2-5; they were maritime people. 10:5; Europe, Americas 2 b. Ham -- 10:6-20 they were around the Red Sea, along the Mediterranean Sea, and in the land of Canaan; Egypt; Africa c. Shem -- 10:21-31; Arabia, Asia I. (Slide #4) The Tower Of Babel Text Examined. A. (Slide #5) Noah And His Sons Exited The Ark. B. (Slide #6) “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3Then they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’ 5But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6And the LORD said, ‘Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ 8So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” C. Truths From The Text: 1. (Slide #7) All people on earth spoke the same language! 1 a. IMAGINE that being true! b. Everyone could communicate with everyone else on earth! 2. (►) Men migrated to the Plain of Shinar. 2 a. (Slide #8) Map 1. This is the area near the eastern end of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. 2. This is in present-day Iraq. b. This was in the Biblical Empire of Babylon. c. This was the land of Nimrod’s kingdom [He was a grandson of Ham -- 10:8-12]. d. Gen. 10:8-10 “Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.’ 10And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” e. Many think that Nimrod was the impetus for the tower. 3 3. (Slide #9) Their gargantuan (gigantic, colossal) plan: to build a city and a tower to heaven! 3,4 a. The started with plans to make bricks. 1. They did not have much stone in the area; they began to make bricks from mud. 2. They used bitumen, somewhat like pitch [like we would use cement], and for waterproofing the brick. a. This is a material that can be found naturally; it is black and like tar or asphalt in our understanding. b. It can also be found in our culture as a residue from petroleum distillation. c. It was used as an adhesive, it was also used for a sealant and waterproofing. b. Why did they make this plan? 1. “4And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’” 2. There were 3 reasons: a. (►) “Let us make a name for ourselves!” 1. The Hebrew word means “renown, fame, infamy, glory!” 2. They were going to be “the talk of the earth!” 3. Everyone was going to know about their plan and accomplishment! 4. That makes those who suggest that they were trying to escape another Flood in the future seem implausible! b. (►) We are going to build a city and a tower to heaven! 1. (Slide #10) What did that tower look like? Many assume that this was a ziggurat -- a stepped pyramid. a. Why? b. Because many of them have been found in archeology in that area -- in fact about 30. c. What is interesting, there was not just one in each city; one city, Kish had 3. d. They describe the ziggurat as a tomb for a god or a king. e. Typically people did not live in these cities; they had public buildings administrative offices, granaries, and a temple -- the city was in essence a temple complex. f. They were built with massive piles of mud in the center; the façade was made of baked bricks; steps led up to the top of the ziggurat; they were square; they ranged from 60’ per side to about 200’; these structures had steps up to the top. g. On the top was a small structure to accommodate their god. It was NOT a place where the people went to worship; it was a place where supposedly the god 4 was supposed to come down to the temple, receive worship, and bless his people. h. Thus many posited that this tower was tall; that the phrase “a tower whose top is in the heavens” is merely an idiom that means that it was of impressive height, and that the phrase “God came down” suggests that it really was a ziggurat! 2. I believe that this is an interesting speculation; however, it seems to me to be pure speculation! 3. The Hebrews did not have a word for “ziggurat;” but the Hebrew word “migdal” translated “tower” in Gen.